Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to briefly touch on a few senators. I will not touch on all of them—I know that they will be looked after well and truly through other valedictory speeches. First and foremost, I would like to pass on my congratulations for his service to Senator Watson. As another fellow of the CPAs: to see another accountant leave this chamber certainly narrows our numbers down quite considerably. I have always admired Senator Watson. He is someone who gives the continuity of history to this chamber. He is someone who can take the experience from the past to where we are at the moment, and the work he did in superannuation is certainly to be admired. His diligence in an accountant’s way, his dry diligence to the cause and his ability to get underneath the facts, to dig round and to make sure that we have a Senate that does what it is supposed to do—review and amend legislation and represent the rights of the states—and to be discerning and forensic in legislation are things that I feel Senator Watson has been quite an able advocate for. He has also been a very able advocate for his state, Tasmania. It is a shame to see him go.

I would also like to talk briefly about the Acting Deputy President, Senator Lightfoot. Senator Lightfoot has been an absolute pleasure to work with in my work with the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories. When you meet him, you can see the human side of him. He has a very dapper exterior; there is no doubt about that. Sometimes you take that the wrong way and when you meet such a person you think, ‘This is a foil to protect the proper person,’ but what I like about Senator Lightfoot is that the proper person is ready and waiting to meet you. He is a very colourful and encouraging character who is able to engage with people. Another character that adds to the colour of this place will be lost when Senator Lightfoot walks out the door. I thank him for the work he did, especially in the national capital and external territories committee.

I too went to Antarctica, and I noted that some people on the ship still remembered their experiences with Senator Lightfoot. The way they expressed it to me was, ‘If all that Senator Lightfoot tells us is true, we presume that he must be about 143.’ He certainly left his impression on the good ship Aurora Australis.